The city of Palmdale has been awarded $174,000 by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)’s Food Waste Prevention and Rescue Grant to help South Antelope Valley Emergency Services (SAVES) expand its food rescue and distribution efforts.
This grant will allow SAVES to enhance its services to the most vulnerable members of the community. With this award, SAVES will be able to increase its intake of food donations from both new and existing food donors, all of which will be food that is rescued from going to landfills and instead distributed to those in need.
“This project is a creative, resourceful, and multi-faceted project that will improve the quality of services that the city provides while contributing to state and local waste reduction goals,” said Palmdale City Manager James Purtee. “We also would like to thank Senator Scott Wilk and Assemblymember Tom Lackey for their support letters fully endorsing this project.”
SAVES provides a practical and caring approach to serving people in need. The SAVES program was started in 1983 to offer assistance to individuals and families who are experiencing a temporary emergency situation.
The day-to-day operations of SAVES and staffing are funded through Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Emergency Food and Shelter Program (EFSP). Food is provided through a collaboration with the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, federal programs, and the daily contributions of local markets, stores and restaurants.
